Content Creation, Deployment Collaboration, and Subsequent Marketing Activities

ABSTRACT

Content creation and deployment collaboration techniques are described. In one or more implementations, metadata that describes the creation of the content may be associated with the content. The content may then be provided from a content creation service to a content deployment service for deployment as part of a marketing activity. Deployment data obtained from this tracking may be utilized to support a variety of functionality, such as by content creators to determine which of their content has been successfully employed as part of marketing activities, marketers may also use knowledge of the deployment of the content to choose content to be included in a marketing activity as well as select content creators that are best suited to provide this content, used to configure badges, by retailers and manufacturers, and so forth.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. Section 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/085,040, filed Nov. 26, 2014, andtitled “Content Creation and Deployment Collaboration,” the entiredisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Marketing activities may take a variety of forms to increase awarenessof products and services to potential consumers. For example, onlinemarketing activities include use of banner ads, links, webpages, onlinevideos, and so on that are accessible via the Internet. Marketingactivities are also configurable for use that does not involve theInternet, such a physical fliers, television advertising, printedadvertisements, and so forth.

As such, marketing activities encompass a variety of content, such asimages, sound, media, and so forth. However, conventional techniquesthat are employed to select content for inclusion in marketingactivities are typically performed “from scratch.” For example, amarketing professional that desired to create a marketing activity for aparticular product typically chose content for inclusion in the layoutby relying on the professional's intuition in creating the activity.Although the marketing professional may be aware of other marketingactivities that were successful and thus leverage knowledge of theseother marketing activities, the professional may not be aware as to whythese activities were actually successful. Thus, this often left themarketing professional to make a best guess regarding this success inthe creation of a new marketing activity, which could be complicated,time consuming, and may not be accurate.

SUMMARY

Content creation and deployment collaboration techniques are described.In one or more implementations, a content creator utilizes devices aswell as tools of a content creation service to create content, such asan image, sound data, media, and so on. Metadata that describes thecreation of the content is associated with the content, such ascharacteristics of a device used, applications and functionality of theapplications used to process the content, environmental factors,description of objects within the content, and so forth. The content isthen be provided from the content creation service to a contentdeployment service for deployment as part of a marketing activity.

Deployment data obtained from this tracking is usable to support avariety of functionality. Content creators, for instance, may receivethis data to determine which of their content has been successfullyemployed as part of marketing activities. Marketers may also useknowledge of the deployment of the content to choose content to beincluded in a marketing activity as well as select content creators thatare best suited to provide this content. Badges may also be configuredfor association with respective items of content and/or user profiles ofcontent creators.

This Summary introduces a selection of concepts in a simplified formthat are further described below in the Detailed Description. As such,this Summary is not intended to identify essential features of theclaimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid indetermining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different instances in thedescription and the figures may indicate similar or identical items.Entities represented in the figures may be indicative of one or moreentities and thus reference may be made interchangeably to single orplural forms of the entities in the discussion.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment in an example implementationthat is operable to employ content creation and deployment techniquesdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 depicts an example implementation in which examples of contentcreation by a content creator are shown.

FIG. 3 depicts an example implementation in which content is associatedwith a marketing activity, deployed as part of the marketing activity,and deployment data is collected describing the deployment.

FIG. 4 depicts an example implementation in which deployment data ofFIG. 3 is leveraged along with metadata associated with content of FIG.2 that describes the creation of the content.

FIG. 5 depicts an example implementation in which content, associatedmetadata, and deployment data are leveraged by a marketer to obtaincontent for a marketing activity.

FIG. 6 depicts an example implementation showing a user interface of anonline social-media based portfolio service.

FIG. 7 depicts a system in an example implementation in which marketingchannel usage is identified and leveraged via ratings to select contentfor inclusion as part of a marketing activity.

FIG. 8 depicts a system in an example implementation in which a workflowis utilized as part of generation of content as part of a marketingactivity.

FIG. 9 depicts an example user interface showing creation of a sharednetwork resource to be used as part of a workflow.

FIG. 10 depicts an example user interface showing initiation of grantingaccess to the shared network resource by a managing user.

FIG. 11 depicts an example user interface that is output responsive toselection of the option to grant user access of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 depicts an example user interface that is configured to acceptcontent for inclusion as part of the shared network resource.

FIG. 13 depicts an example user interface that is output responsive toaddition of content to a shared network resource as shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 depicts an example user interface that is configured to acceptinput from a managing user to manage access to a shared networkresource.

FIG. 15 depicts an example user interface that is configured to initiatecomment input in relation to content available via the shared networkresource of FIG. 14.

FIGS. 16 and 17 depict example user interfaces that are configured toaccept inputs as a comment in relation to content available via theshared network resource via an option output responsive to selection ofFIG. 15.

FIG. 18 depicts an example user interface that includes an activitystream that includes comments that may be used to support a workflow forcreation and modification of the content.

FIG. 19 depicts another example user interface that is also configuredto accept inputs as a comment in relation to content available via theshared network resource.

FIG. 20 depicts an example user interface that includes an activitystream that includes comments input as described in FIGS. 16 and 19.

FIG. 21 depicts another example user interface that includes an activitystream that includes comments input as described in FIGS. 16 and 19.

FIG. 22 depicts an example user interface showing selection anapplication of an image editing operation to the content.

FIG. 23 depicts an example user interface showing input of a commentassociated with an image editing operation.

FIG. 24 depicts an example user interface showing an activity streamthat includes comments from FIGS. 16, 19 and 23.

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which content is created and the deployment of whichis tracked as part of a marketing activity.

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which data is aggregated to indicate similarities ofmetadata and tracked deployment of content as part of marketingactivities.

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which inputs are provided that describe a marketingactivity and in response content to be included as part of the marketingactivity and content creators are found based on metadata describingcreation of content.

FIG. 28 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which suggestions are generated for content to beincluded as part of a marketing activity responsive to inputs that arereceived that describe the marketing activity.

FIG. 29 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which content is deployed and tracked using a usagetracking monitor.

FIG. 30 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which badges are associated with a user profile and anitem of content that are indicative of deployment of content created bythe content creator as part of marketing activities.

FIG. 31 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which deployment of a marketing activity and contentis tracked and data is exposed for output in a user interface describingone or more devices utilized in creating the content.

FIG. 32 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which annotations are generated for content to beincluded as part of an offer for content to be included as part of amarketing activity.

FIG. 33 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which data describing tracked deployment of aplurality of marketing activities is segmented by channel and contentwithin those channels is rated to serve as suggestions for selection ofcontent.

FIG. 34 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exampleimplementation in which an activity stream is employed that is used todisplay comments and markups to content.

FIG. 35 illustrates an example system including various components of anexample device that can be implemented as any type of computing deviceas described and/or utilize with reference to FIGS. 1-34 to implementembodiments of the techniques described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

Content creation and deployment collaboration techniques are described.In one or more implementations, data is shared between a contentcreation service and a content deployment service, which supports avariety of functionality. For example, a content creator (e.g., acontent author) may utilize devices (e.g., a camera, microphone) as wellas tools of a content creation service (e.g., image or sound processingapplications) to create content, such as an image, sound data, media,and so on. Metadata that describes the creation of the content isassociated with the content, such as characteristics of a device used,applications and functionality of the applications used to process thecontent, environmental factors, description of objects within thecontent, and so forth.

The content is then provided from the content creation service to acontent deployment service for deployment as part of a marketingactivity. The content, in one such instance, is associated with atracking monitor to enable the content deployment service to track thedeployment of the content, e.g., to determine a number of times accessedby potentials customers, how and when accessed, identities of whoaccessed the content, and so forth. Deployment data obtained from thistracking may be utilized to support a variety of functionality.

Content creators, in one such instance, receive this data to determinewhich of their content has been successfully employed as part ofmarketing activities and use this information in the creation of futurecontent. Likewise, marketers may also use knowledge of the deployment ofthe content to choose content to be included in a marketing activity aswell as select content creators that are best suited to provide thiscontent. For example, knowledge of a marketing channel used to providethe content us usable to select and control use of appropriate contentas part of a marketing activity. Even manufacturers of the devices usedto create the content may find this information useful, such as todetermine which devices are typically used to capture content as well ashow those devices are utilized in the creation of the content.

A variety of other feedback is also supported by leveraging a connectionbetween a content creation service and a content deployment service,such as to configure badges for association with respective items ofcontent and/or user profiles of content creators. The badges may beindicative of an amount of deployment of the content as part of one ormore marketing activities, e.g., associated with particular levels,include a counter indicating a number of uses in a marketing activityand so on. The badges may also be indicative that may be awarded basedon thresholds, content type, views, downloads, purchases, outputchannels, length of service, length of asset in service, contentcreation service peer or deployment referrals, social network usages andmentions (e.g., Facebook®, LinkedIn®, Behance®, Twitter®), and so on.Further discussion of these and other content creation and deploymentcollaboration techniques is described in the following and shown incorresponding figures.

In the following discussion, an example environment is first describedthat is configured to employ the content creation and deploymentcollaboration techniques described herein. Example procedures are thendescribed which may be performed in the example environment as well asother environments. Consequently, performance of the example proceduresis not limited to the example environment and the example environment isnot limited to performance of the example procedures.

Example Environment

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment 100 in an exampleimplementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein. Adigital medium environment is illustrated that is configured to createand deploy marketing activities as well as create content for inclusionas part of the marketing activities. The illustrated environment 100includes a content creation service 102, a content deployment service104, and a client device 106 that are communicatively coupled, one toanother, via a network 108. Although illustrated separately,functionality represented by the content creation service 102 and thecontent deployment service 104 are also combinable into a single entity,may be further divided across other entities that are communicativelycoupled via the network 108 (e.g., a third party sharing service asshown in FIG. 8), and so on.

Computing devices that are used to implement the content creationservice 102, content deployment service 104, and the client device 106are configurable in a variety of ways. Computing devices, in one suchinstance, are configured as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, amobile device (e.g., assuming a handheld configuration such as a tabletor mobile phone), and so forth. Thus, computing devices range from fullresource devices with substantial memory and processor resources (e.g.,personal computers, game consoles) to a low-resource device with limitedmemory and/or processing resources (e.g., mobile devices). Additionally,although a single computing device is shown in some instances, computingdevices are also representative of a plurality of different devices,such as multiple servers utilized by a business to perform operations“over the cloud” as shown for the content creation service 102 and thecontent deployment service 104, further discussion of which may be foundin relation to FIG. 35.

The content creation service 102 is illustrated as including a contentcreation manager module 110 and storage 112 that are representative offunctionality that is available via the network 108 to create and storecontent 114. The client device 106, as illustrated, includes acommunication module 116 that is representative of functionality toaccess the content creation service 102 and/or the content deploymentservice 104 via the network 108. As such, the communication module 116may be configured in a variety of ways, such as a browser, anetwork-enabled application, and so forth.

Regardless of how the communication module 116 is implemented, thecontent creation manager module 110 provides a variety of functionalityfor access by the client device 106 that is related to the creation ofcontent 114. Examples of this functionality include graphic design,video editing, web development, sound data processing, and photography.For example, functionality supported by the content creation managermodule 110 includes digital motion graphics and compositingapplications, digital audio editors, GUI web development application,animation design, web design, multimedia authoring applications,application-authoring applications, a vector graphics editor, desktoppublishing applications, webpage and web development applications,raster-graphics editing applications, a real-time timeline-based videoediting application, and so forth. Additionally, the content creationmanager module 110 also supports an online social-media based portfolioservice for content creators (e.g., Behance®), further discussion ofwhich may be found in the following. Thus, a variety of applications areaccessible by the client device 106 to create content 114 having avariety of different forms.

The content 114, once created, may then be communicated to a contentdeployment service 104. The content deployment service 104 isillustrated as including a deployment manager module 118 and storage 120that are representative of functionality to deploy the content 114 aspart of a marketing activity. For example, marketing activities may beutilized to increase awareness of a good or service. This includesmaking potential consumers aware of the good or service as well asmaking the potential consumers aware of characteristics of the good orservice, even if the potential consumers already own the good. Anadvertiser, for instance, generates a marketing activity to indicatefunctionality that is available from the good or service to increaseusage and customer satisfaction.

As previously described, marketing activities take a variety ofdifferent forms, such as online marketing activities may involve use ofbanner ads, links, webpages, online videos, communications (e.g.,emails, status posts, messaging), and so on that may be accessed via theInternet or otherwise. Marketing activities are also be configured foruse that does not involve the Internet, such a physical fliers,television advertising, printed advertisements, billboard display (e.g.,at a sporting event or along a side of a road), and so forth.

The deployment manager module 118 includes functionality to configurecontent 114 for inclusion as part of a marketing activity as well astrack deployment of the content 114 as part of the marketing activity.The deployment manager module 118, for instance, associates a trackingmonitor to track the deployment of the content 114, e.g., to determine anumber of times accessed by potentials customers, how and when accessed,identities of who accessed the content, and so forth. Deployment data122 obtained from this tracking is then usable to support a variety offunctionality.

The deployment data 122, for instance, is communicated back to thecontent creation service 102, which supports a variety of functionality.For instance, the deployment data 122 is utilized to provide feedback tocontent creators regarding the deployment of their content 114. This isutilized, for instance, along with the characteristics of the content114 from the associated metadata that describes the creation of thecontent 114 that is successful or not successful as part of a marketingactivity. In this way, the deployment data 122 acts as a guide to futurecreation of content by the content creator.

Likewise, the deployment data 122 may also be utilized by marketers incrafting future marketing activities as well as to make modifications toa current marketing activity. The metadata describing the creation ofthe content 114 along with the deployment data 122 describing use of thecontent 114 as part of the marketing activity may be examined todetermine characteristics of content 114 that are successful and/or notsuccessful in respective types of marketing activities. Thus, themarketer may gain insight regarding characteristics of content to beincluded in future marketing activities as well as changes that may bemade to the current marketing activity.

The deployment data 122, along with the metadata describing the contentcreation, is also usable by the content creation service 102 as part ofan online social-media based portfolio service. The content creationmanager module 110, in one such instance, generates badges forassociation with a user profile of a content creator and/or an item ofcontent itself that describes the deployment of content as part of oneor more marketing activities. This serves as a mechanism for marketersto locate content creators of interest as part of the social service aswell as incentivize content creators to utilize and develop content forinclusion as part of the content creation service 102. Other examplesare also contemplated, such as to output the deployment data 122 forviewing by manufacturers and sellers of devices used to create thecontent. Further description of these and other examples may be found inrelation to the following discussion and are shown in correspondingfigures.

FIG. 2 depicts an example implementation 200 in which examples ofcontent creation by a content creator are shown. The implementation 200includes first and second examples 202, 204 of content creation, whichmay be performed separately or together. At the first example 202, forinstance, content 114 is associated with metadata 206 that describescreation of the content 114. The content 114, for instance, may becaptured by a content capture device 208, e.g., an image capture device,video camera, microphone, and so on. Although illustrated as part of theclient device 106, the content capture device 208 is also configurableas a standalone device, is usable by someone other than a user of theclient device 106, and so forth.

The metadata 206 is usable to describe a variety of characteristicsinvolved in the capturing of the content 114. In an example, themetadata 206 describes a time 210 and location 212 at which the content114 is created. The metadata 206 also references a content creator 214(e.g., author) that utilized the content capture device 208, a web siteaddress of the content creator, and so forth. In another example, themetadata describes characteristics of a device (e.g., the contentcapture device 208) utilized to create the content 114. This includesdevice type 216 and device settings 218, such as flash usage, focallength, aperture value, exposure time, zoom level, digital versus analogzoom, lens type, resolution, or device identifier.

The metadata 206 may also describe environmental conditions 220 of ascene in which the content is captured, such as a scene classification,lighting conditions, whether the environment is likely indoors oroutdoors, e.g., based on exposure time for an image or background noisefor sound data, and so forth. Content characteristics 222 are alsodescribable by the metadata 206, such as identification of one or moreobjects included in the captured content 114 (e.g., a car, dog, etc.),audio metadata that identifies sources of sounds and/or the soundsthemselves (e.g., a choir, barking of a dog), and forth. Creation ofcontent may also include editing of the content and even generation ofthe content without capturing the content, e.g., composed by a contentcreator through interaction with one or more applications.

As shown in the second example 204, for instance, the client device 106communicates with the content creation manager module 110 of the contentcreation service 102 to create content 114, e.g., to compose originalcontent, edit the content 114 captured in the first example 202, and soforth. As such, metadata 206 also describes content creation performedthrough interaction with the content creation service 102.

The metadata 206, for instance, references a service provider 224 thathosts applications, applications used 226 that are made available at theservice provider, processing (e.g., filters) performed 228 by thoseapplications, and content characteristic results 230 of the creation ofthe content 114, e.g., motion path blurs of a blur filter. For example,the metadata 206 describes one or more image processing operationsapplied to the content 114 and identifies one or more applications usedto perform the processing of an image, sound data, video, and so forth.

Thus, the metadata 206 is usable to describe a variety ofcharacteristics involved in the creation of the content 114, whichsupport a variety of functionality, examples of which are described inthe following and shown in corresponding figures.

FIG. 3 depicts an example implementation 300 in which content isassociated with a marketing activity, deployed as part of the marketingactivity, and deployment data is collected describing the deployment.This example implementation 300 is illustrated using first, second, andthird stages 302, 304, 306. At the first stage 302, a content deploymentservice 104 obtains content 114 having associated metadata 206 thatdescribes creation of the content. The metadata 206 may be associatedwith the content 114 in a variety of ways, such as stored andcommunicated along with the content 114, include an indicator specifyingthe association such that the metadata 206 may be maintained separatelyfrom the content 114, and so forth.

The content deployment service 104, through use of the deploymentmanager module 118 deploys a marketing activity 308 that includes thecontent 114. A marketer, in one or more such instances, interacts withthe content deployment service 104 to create the marketing activity 308,e.g., a layout of content as well as what content that is included inthe activity, communicates a marketing activity 308 that is createdlocally by the marketing professional, and so on. In one or moreimplementations, the metadata 206 associated with the content 114 alsodescribes how the content 114 is employed by the marketing activity 308,such as placement within a layout of the marketing activity 308,describes the marketing activity 308 itself (e.g., to sell shoes), andso forth.

At the second stage 304, the content deployment service 104 deploys themarketing activity 308 having the content 114. The marketing activity308 and/or the content 114 of the marketing activity includes a trackingmonitor 310 in this example. The tracking module 310 is usable inconjunction with the content deployment service 104 to track deploymentof the marketing activity 308 and the content 114 included as part ofthe marketing activity 308 to one or more potential consumers 312. Forexample, a push model may be employed in which data is communicated bythe tracking module 310 to the content deployment service 104. A pullmodel may also be employed in which data is provided responsive to arequest received form the content deployment service 104, example ofwhich are further described below.

At the third stage 306, deployment data 122 is received by the contentdeployment service 104 that describes deployment of the marketingactivity 308 and included content 114 to the potential consumers 312.Continuing with the previous example, the tracking monitor 310 isconfigurable in a variety of ways to cause deployment data 122 to becommunicated back to the content deployment service 104.

The tracking monitor 310, in one or more such instances, activelymonitors the potential consumers' 312 interaction with the marketingactivity 308 and corresponding content 114 and communicate deploymentdata 122 that describes this interaction. This includes a number ofinteractions (e.g., views), who interacted with the content 114, whenthe interaction occurred, how the interaction occurred (e.g., via abrowser, client device specifics), a location of the potential consumers312 and/or provider that interacted with the content 114, and so forth.Inactive examples are also contemplated in which the tracking monitor310 is locatable by the content deployment service 104, the provision ofcontent 114 it utilized to track the marketing activity (e.g., downloadsof the content when viewed by potential consumers 312), and so forth.Thus, the deployment data 122 describes a variety of differentinteractions with the content 114 and corresponding marketing activity308 that are usable in a variety of ways, examples of which aredescribes as follows and shown in corresponding figures.

FIG. 4 depicts an example implementation 400 in which the deploymentdata 122 of FIG. 3 is leveraged along with metadata 206 associated withcontent 114 of FIG. 2 that describes the creation of the content 114.This example implementation 400 is illustrated using first, second, andthird stages 402, 404, 406. At the first stage 402, a content deploymentservice 104 associates content 114, metadata 206, and deployment data122 to each other. As previously described, the metadata 206 may beassociated with the content 114 in a variety of ways, such ascommunicated with the content 114, stored separately (i.e., apart from)the content 114 with an indication (e.g., name) of the content 114 towhich it corresponds, and so forth. The deployment data 122 and themetadata 206, alone or in combination, support a variety offunctionality.

At the second stage 404, for instance, the content deployment service104 communicates the content 114 with the metadata 206 and correspondingdeployment data 122 to marketers 408. The marketers 408, for instance,may be the same marketers that generated the marketing activity 308.Therefore, the associated deployment data 122 provides metrics that areusable by the marketers 408 to track effectiveness of the content 114 aspart of the marketing activity 308 as well as the marketing activity asa whole. In this way, the marketers 408 may make decisions regarding themarketing activity (e.g., whether to make changes to content included inthe marketing activity) as well as may be used for other subsequentmarketing activities as further described below.

Additionally, association of the metadata 206 that describes creation ofthe content 114 along with the deployment data 122 supports a variety ofdifferent pivots that are indicative of relationships of characteristicsof the content 114 with the marketing activity 308. As previouslydescribed, the metadata 206 describes characteristics of a device usedto capture the content, functionality utilized to edit and create thecontent, environmental factors associated with the content, authors(i.e., content creators) of the content 114, and so forth. In this way,the marketers 408 may determine from this content 114 (and even whenaggregated with other content) characteristics of the content 114indicated by the metadata 206 that are or are not successful as part ofmarketing activities, further discussion of which may be found inrelation to FIG. 5.

In another example as shown in the third stage 406, the contentdeployment service 104 communicates the content, associated metadata206, and deployment data 122 for use by a content creation service 102.This is usable in a variety of ways. In one or more examples of this,the deployment data 122 provides real time feedback to a content creatorregarding use of the content 114. The deployment data 122 is also usableto generate badges for association with the content 114 and/or a userprofile of the content creator indicating usage of the content as partof marketing activities, e.g., different levels indicating respectivenumbers of instances of interaction by potential consumers 312.Additionally, a combination of the metadata 206 with the deployment data122 may be helpful in informing the content creator as tocharacteristics of content 114 that are or are not successful as part ofa marketing activity. Further discussion of these and other features maybe found in relation to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 depicts an example implementation 500 in which content 114,associated metadata 206, and deployment data 122 are leveraged by amarketer 408 to obtain content for a marketing activity. This exampleimplementation 500 is also shown using first, second, and third stages502, 504, 506. At the first stage 502, a marketer 408 interacts with auser interface 508 that outputs data describing a marketing activity 308as well as content 114 that is included as part of the marketingactivity 308.

The user interface 508 also includes metadata 206 that describescreation of the content 114 and deployment data 122 that describesdeployment of the content 114 as part of the marketing activity 308.Thus, a marketer 408 interacts with the user interface 508 to view arelationship of content 114 to the marketing activity 308, which isperformable in real time such that the marketer 408 may make changes tothe marketing activity 308 based on this feedback.

The user interface 508 may also be configured to aggregate the content114, metadata 206, and deployment data 122 from a plurality of marketingactivities 308. In this way, the marketer 408 may observe trends andcommonalities between the metadata 206 that describes creation of thecontent 114 and success or lack thereof of marketing activities 308having this content 114. The marketer 408 may then use this informationas a guide to creation of subsequent marketing activities, e.g., toreplace content having a landscape of a particular location with alandscape of another location for marketing activities deployed atspecific geographic locations.

As shown in the second stage 504, for instance, a marketer 408 may usethis information to interact with a content creation service 102 tolocate content 114 having metadata 206 that corresponds to metadata 206that has been found to be successful as part of marketing activities308. At the third stage 506, the marketer obtains content 510 from thecontent deployment service 104 (or directly from a content creator)having these characteristics. For instance, the marketer 408, throughuse of the digital marketing environment of FIG. 1, locates similarcontent 510 from the content deployment service 104 exposed as part ofthe online social-media based portfolio service as shown in FIG. 6. Inanother instance, the marketer 408 locates content creators that havecreated content having similar characteristics and then makes an offerto the content creators to create content 510 having the desiredcharacteristics as also shown and described in relation to FIG. 6.

The marketer 408, for instance, may choose content creators that aremore naturally suited to creating content that is optimized for aparticular marketing activity, e.g., if landscapes will be effective,the marketer 408 chooses a content creator that has landscapes in theirportfolio on the online social-media based portfolio service. Locationof the content creators may also be aided through the use of badges, anexample of which is described in relation to FIG. 6.

The user interface 508 is configurable to output suggestions for contentto be included based on the metadata 206 and deployment data 122. Themarketer 408, in one or more such instances, provides inputs describingcharacteristics of a marketing activity to be created and/or content forinclusion as part of the marketing activity. For example, the marketer408 may provide a textual description of the marketing activity 308and/or content 114, select examples of content 114 for inclusion thatare not to be included themselves but represent characteristics that aredesirable by the marketer, and so forth. The content creation service102 then outputs suggestions of characteristics of the content (e.g.,the metadata 206) based on the metadata 206 that have been successful ornot successful as indicated by the deployment data 122. Further, this isperformable as part of a workflow in which tasks are assigned along withcomments and markups shared to create desired content, furtherdiscussion of which may be found in relation to FIGS. 8-24.

In another instance, the metadata 206 and deployment data 122 areutilized to verify potential success of a marketing campaign created bythe marketer 408. This is performed through comparison of metadataassociated with content of the created marketing campaign with metadataassociated with content of other marketing campaigns and thecorresponding deployment data of those other campaigns. For example, auser may upload a marketing activity having content and associatedmetadata describing creation of the content and receive an indication ofa likelihood of success of the marketing activity. An indication is alsoreceived having suggestions of changes that may be made based on themetadata 206 and associated deployment data 122, e.g., to includedifferent content, include different characteristics of the content,indicate that the content is likely to be successful as part of themarketing activity, and so forth.

FIG. 6 depicts an example implementation 600 showing a user interface602 of an online social-media based portfolio service. Content 604, 606,608 of content creators associated with respective user profiles 610,612, 614 is displayed in the user interface as part of their associatedportfolio, which are photographs of dogs in this example but otherimages and types of content are also contemplated, such as sound data,media, and so forth. Each item of content 604, 606, 608 also includes anindication 616, 618, 620 of a number of likes/approvals of therespective item of content 604, 606, 608 as well as an indication 622,624, 626 of a number of times the respective item of content 604, 606,608 was viewed using the online social-media based portfolio service.

The user interface 602 of the content creation service 102 alsoleverages the deployment data 122 obtained from the content deploymentservice 104. For example, badges 628, 630, 632 are associated withrespective content items indicating deployment of the content as part ofa marketing activity. Badge 628, for instance, includes a counterindicating that content 604 was involved with 1.1 million interactionsas part of a marketing activity, whereas badge 630 indicates thatcontent 606 is not involved in a marketing activity and content 608 isinvolved with two thousand interactions as part of a marketing activity.

The badges 628-632 and counters included as part of the badges 628-632are updatable in real time as part of the deployment of the marketingactivity and thus provide a content creator with an up-to-dateindication of the use of the content. Other examples are alsocontemplated, such as to delay display and/or support anonymous displayto protect this information from outside parties. For example, if suchcount information is considered proprietary to the marketer 408, thesystem also “anonymize” the data by not relating the views to anyspecific asset but provide a general badge associated with the creator(e.g., as shown for badges 634, 636) or even delay reporting until suchtime as deemed appropriate.

Badges 634, 636, for instance, may also be associated with user accounts610, 614 of online social-media based portfolio service of a content.The badges 624, 626, for instance, is indicative of deployment ofcontent created by the content creator as part of one or more marketingactivities, whether for the content item 604, 608 itself or for aplurality of items of content created by the content creator.

For example, the badges 634, 636 are indicative of a particular one of aplurality of different levels of deployment of the content as part ofone or more marketing activities. Badge 636 indicates that the contentcreator of user profile 608 has had a greater amount of deployment (asindicated by a level associated with three trophies) than a badge 634that is associated with user profile 610 and the lack of a badge foruser profile 606. Thus, these badges 634, 636 are indicative of areputation of a corresponding user profile 634, 636 and thereforeencourage content creators to employ the content creation and deploymentservices 102, 104 to include their content. This also supports theability to view success of a content creator by marketers 408, which maythen seek out content creators for future campaigns who have hadprevious success as evidenced by these objective metrics associated withthe marketing activities. A variety of other badge configurations arealso contemplated, which are awarded based on thresholds, content type,views, downloads, purchases, output channels, length of service, lengthof asset in service, content creation service peer or deploymentreferrals, social network usages and mentions (e.g., Facebook®,LinkedIn®, Behance®, Twitter®), and so on.

The combination of the two scenarios is equally powerful. For example, amarketer 408 may seek out both a content creator who has an objectivesuccess rate as indicated by the badges and also one who specializes inthe type of asset for which the marketing activity is focused. If alandscape shot with a particular camera at a particular location hasbeen shown to be effective as a background for an ad, for instance, themarketer 408 selects a content creator meeting those criteria who isshown to be successful in campaigns for that pivot and not merely acreator who is just successful overall. Thus, the combination of thedeployment data 122 describing deployment of the marketing activity 308along with metadata 206 describing creation of the content 114 is usableto support a variety of different functionality.

FIG. 7 depicts a system 700 in an example implementation in whichmarketing channel usage is identified and leveraged via ratings toselect content for inclusion as part of a marketing activity. The system700 is illustrated using first, second, and third stages 702, 704, 706.Marketing activities are typically associated with marketing channels,which relate to how the marketing activity is to be consumed.Consequently, in this example content usage is rated within marketingchannels, which is utilized to select content for inclusion in aparticular marketing activity. Further, these techniques also leveragethe metadata techniques described above as part of the rating to givegreater weights and thus higher rankings to content having metadata withgreater commonalities within the marketing channels, e.g., metadata thathas exhibited increased usage within the marketing channel.

At the first stage 702, for instance, the deployment manager module 118of the content deployment service 104 receives content 114 that includesmetadata 206 and deployment data 122 as previously described. Thedeployment data 122, for instance, describes deployment of the content114, e.g., as part of a marketing activity. The metadata 206 describescharacteristics of the content and/or creation of the content, includingenvironmental conditions, filter used, application utilized, imageediting operations performed, devices used, and so forth as previouslydescribed.

The deployment manager module 118 in this instance is configured tosegment the deployment data 112 and corresponding content 114 intorespective ones of a plurality of marketing channels 708. The marketingchannels 708, for instance, define how the marketing activity thatincludes the content 114 is to be consumed. Accordingly, the marketingchannels 708 are definable based on this consumption, such as a deviceused to perform the consumption (e.g., mobile versus desktop versusliving room), a type of communication to be used to communicate themarketing activity (e.g., message, banner ad, email, printedpublication, billboard), where the marketing activity is going to beconsumed (e.g., geographic location such that different images orrendition are usable to culturally adjust selection of the “best”content), and so forth. Thus, at this point each marketing channel 708“bucket” includes deployment data 122 that describes deployment ofrespective content 114 in that channel.

At the second stage 704, the deployment manager module 118 employs aratings module 710 that is representative of functionality to generateratings 712 for respective content 114 based on usage within themarketing channels 708. As previously described, the deployment data 122is segmented into marketing channels 708 which describes usage of thecontent 114 within those marketing channels 708. The ratings module 710may then rate the usage of the content 114 within those channels basedon this data (e.g., generate a score) and thus may determine which itemsof content 114 performed “best” within the marketing channel 708, e.g.,by using the ratings 712 to rank the content 114, one to another. Inthis way, the ratings 712 may also be used to indicate which of thecontent 114 has the best performance within the marketing channel 708.

The ratings may also be based on the metadata 206 and thus take intoaccount characteristics of the content 114 as described above. In one ormore such examples, the ratings are also based on commonalities of themetadata 206 within the marketing channel 708, such as commoncharacteristics of the content, environmental conditions, a device usedto create the content, and so on. Thus, content 114 having more of thesetypes of metadata that is common to successful content 114 as indicatedby the ratings 712 is adjustable to be given greater weight, e.g., anincreased rating 712. These ratings 712 are then be exposed forselecting content 114 to be included as part of a marketing activitybased on the marketing channel 708.

At the third stage 706, for instance, the deployment manager module 118receives a request 714 to generate a marketing activity 716. As part ofthis generation, the deployment manager module 118 examines the ratings712 for content 114 for a marketing channel 708 that corresponds withthe request 714. The deployment manger module 117 then selects content114 based on the ratings 712, e.g., has a highest ranking in relation toother content 114 included within the marketing channel 708.

In another example, this selection is based on the ranking of themetadata 206 and thus usable to select content 114 that corresponds tothat metadata, e.g., device type, environmental conditions, contentcharacteristics, and so forth. The content 114 is then included as partof the marketing activity 716 for deployment as previously described. Avariety of other examples are also contemplated as further discussion inrelation to the procedures section.

FIG. 8 depicts a system 800 in an example implementation in which aworkflow is utilized in generation of content as part of a marketingactivity. The system 800 as illustrated includes the content creationservice 102 and the content deployment service 104 as described above.The system 800 also includes a third-party sharing service 802 that isusable to maintain a shared network resource 804, such as a folder thatmay be made accessible to other users as further described below.

The deployment manager module 118 is illustrated as managing creation ofa marketing activity 806 through use of a workflow 808 having associatedtasks 810. The content deployment service 104 in the example supports a“spoke and wheel” organization of management and content creation inwhich collaboration with the content deployment service 104 is at thecenter and user accounts of the content creation service 102 are thespokes that share and interact with content through permissions managedby the content deployment service 104. Although illustrated as part ofthe content deployment service 104, this functionality may also beincorporated as part of the content creation service 102 or elsewheresuch as through part of a third-party service.

A managing user (e.g., marketer) at the content deployment service 104,for instance, may initiate workflow 808 related to a marketing activity806 and/or content to be created for the marketing activity 806. As partof this creation, the workflow 808 includes tasks 810, which areassigned to groups and/or individuals that access the content creationservice 102, e.g., by client device 812, 814 having respectivecommunication modules 816, 818 as previously described to access useraccounts. Once a task 810 is completed (e.g., creation of content byclient device 812), the workflow 808 navigates to the next task 810automatically and without user intervention. Continuing with theprevious example, once a draft of the content is created a next task 810may involve approval of the draft by a managing user (e.g., themarketer) or for a comment and markup to indicate changes to be made tothe content. Tasks 810 may be ad hoc or based on a reusablepreconfigured workflow that is selectable by the managing user.

Thus, the content deployment service 104 monitors modification ofcontent, comments and markups made to the content in this example andshares that information with the managing users as well as other usersgiven access to the workflow 808. Thus, the workflow 808 supportscreation, comment, and markup through the use of tasks 810. This may beperformed such that a contributor and editor both see the markup andcontent simultaneously, e.g., in real time. In this way, user accountsof the content creation service 102 and the content deployment service104 are kept up-to-date in real time as changes, comments, and markupsare made, such as through use of an activity stream as further describedin relation to FIGS. 9-23.

An initiator of the workflow 808, e.g., the managing user describedabove, may also manage access rights to a shared network resource viawhich the workflow 808 is available. The shared network resource 804,for instance, is maintained by the content deployment service 104 and/ora third-party sharing service 802. The managing user may then inviteother users to access the shared network resource, such as users ofclient devices 812, 814 and may maintain control of content disposed inthe shared network resource such that even when access to other users ifrevoked, the managing user maintains the content.

In one or more implementations, permissions may be set for read andwrite access with a specified time limitation for that access. A lowerresolution image and/or watermarking may also be employed such thatscreenshots are not successful in capturing marketing useable versionsof the content, thereby protecting the content from malicious parties.Thus, the deployment manager module 118 may be utilized to automaticallyconvert content by adding watermarking, supporting digital rightsmanagement (DRM), may be used to create thumbnails to be used torepresent the content, and so on and thus preserve the content frommalicious parties.

As the content, comments, and markups are created a versioning systemmay also be maintained by the deployment manager module 118. Forexample, the deployment manager module 118 is configurable to save andmaintain versions responsive to modifications to the content, additionof comments and markups, and so on. In this way, an ability to createand restore versions of the content is supported by the deploymentmanager module 118. This is also performable at the content deploymentservice 104 and/or as part of the third-party sharing service 802. Forexample, a synchronization technique is employed by the contentdeployment service 104 such that files maintained by the contentdeployment service 104 are also automatically synchronized with thethird-party sharing service 802 as part of a shared network resource 804maintained there. In this way, availability of the shared networkresource 804 may be expanded. In one or more implementations, accessrights to both resources are controlled by the managing user aspreviously described.

The shared network resource, for instance, may be implemented as anetwork folder that may accept files and other data as part of theworkflow 808. Processing of files within the shared network resource isprioritized and throttled in this instance based on a variety ofvariables and thereby conserves computing device resources, such asbased on user account ranking (e.g., using the badges above) and soforth. Metrics are also displayable as part of the shared networkresources, such as to indicate files added, processed, which files areused by which users, license types, license timeframes, and so on.Additional resources may be made available to the managing user, e.g.,at the content deployment service 104, such as enterprise aligned dataconnected with the workflows 808 such as channels, versions, total cost,customer rankings, list or contributors to a shared network resource,current tasks 810 that are outstanding, progress, and so forth.

Analytics may also be maintained, such as to track content access andusage from both the content creation service 102 as well as the contentdeployment service. As previously described, for instance, a user of thecontent creation service 102 is made aware of pages views and usage ofcontent created by prospective customers. To do this, the contentincludes a tracking monitor 310 as described in relation to FIG. 3,which is implemented as a script that causes the content to “call home”to capture metrics on usage including geolocation, channel, company,license, segments, and so forth. This is also utilized to support andverify effectiveness through “A/B” testing to determine which items ofcontent have been most successful, and thus rank the contentaccordingly. Additional ranking may be based on company (e.g., tenant)rankings that are also based on a variety of criteria and thus weightmay be given to content based on company ranking and usage.

Further rankings may be specified by the managing user, which is usableas part of a permissioning technique to grant access to the sharednetwork resource. For example, review and approval workflows may beavoided for a well-known contributor, and thus these contributors aregiven the freedom to create content and the managing user may choose toreview, but approval is avoided. However, untrusted contributors triggera mandatory review and approval workflow by a manger user, i.e., edit.An example of workflow, shared network resource, and permissioningtechniques is described in relation to the following figures.

FIGS. 9-24 depict example user interfaces 900-2400 as implementing aworkflow that supports an activity stream, comments, markups, and tasksas part of a content creation workflow. Reference to FIGS. 9-24 may alsoinclude reference to FIGS. 1-8 in parallel.

FIG. 9 depicts an example user interface 900 showing creation of ashared network resource to be used as part of a workflow. This exampleimplementation is illustrated using first and second stages 902, 904. Atthe first stage 902, the user interface 900 is output for viewing by amanaging user via a content deployment service 104, which may beaccessed locally and/or remotely via the network 108, e.g., by clientdevice 106. The user interface 900 includes an option 906 to add ashared network resource (e.g., a folder) for use as part of a workflow808, such as to specify a title and name for the shared networkresource.

At the second stage 904, the added shared network resource is includedin an “assets” view of the user interface 900. In this view, differentshared network resources are accessible by the managing user, such asfor different content associated with different marketing activities andso on.

The user interface 900 also includes a variety of other views that areselectable via a menu bar 908, illustrated examples of which include asearch portion 910, feed 912, boards 914, assets 916, tools 918,solutions 920, “What's Hot” 922, marketing apps 924, and target 926views.

FIG. 10 depicts an example user interface 1000 showing initiation ofgranting access to the shared network resource by the managing user. Arepresentation of the shared network resource 1002 includes an option1004 that is selectable to grant access to the shared network resource1002 to other users, e.g., users associated with client devices 812, 814having access to user accounts of the content creation service 102.Selection of the option 1004 causes output of an option to specify whichusers are to be granted access, further discussion of which is includedin the following and shown in a corresponding figure.

FIG. 11 depicts an example user interface 1100 that is output responsiveto selection of the option 1004 to grant user access of FIG. 10. Firstand second examples 1102, 1104 of the user interface 1100 areillustrated in this instance. In the first example 1102, an inputportion 1106 is illustrated via which the managing user may specify anadditional user to be granted access to the shared network resource,which may include auto-populate techniques to help “fill in” a user'semail address that is to be used to send an invitation usable to accessthe shared network resource. The input portion 1106 is displayedproximal to a representation of the shared network resource 1002, towhich, access is being granted.

At the second example 1104, a user selects an option 1108 to “share”access to the shared network resource. Selection of this option 1108 maycause communications to be sent via the network 106 to the users thatmay be used to access the shared network resource, such as via logincredentials, a link that is selectable to navigate to the shared networkresource, text message, instant message, and so forth.

FIG. 12 depicts an example user interface 1200 that is configured toaccept content for inclusion as part of the shared network resource.This example user interface 1200 shows the asset view 916 as previouslydescribed in relation to FIG. 9. However, in this instance, the userinterface has navigated to show files available via that shared networkresource and also supports addition of content 1202 to the sharednetwork asset. This may be performed in a variety of ways, such asselection of a “send to” operation, key combination, gesture, adrag-and-drop operation as illustrated, and so on. The content 1202 inthis example is illustrated via a representation that includes athumbnail and name of the content 1202, movement of which supports thedrag-and-drop operation.

FIG. 13 depicts an example user interface 1300 that is output responsiveto addition of content 1202 to a shared network resource as shown inFIG. 12. In this example, the content 1202 has been added to the sharednetwork resource of the content deployment service 104. Once added, arepresentation of the content 1202 is expanded, which includes athumbnail of the content, a specification of type, a data storage size,and so forth. A user may then specify how access (e.g., “sharing”) ofthe content 1202 is to be managed, including leveraging of third-partysharing service 802, an example of which is described in the followingand is shown in a corresponding figure.

FIG. 14 depicts an example user interface 1400 that is configured toaccept input from a managing user to manage access to a shared networkresource. In this example, the user interface 1400 includes a link 1402that is sharable to permit other users (e.g., collaborators using thecontent creation service 102 and/or the content deployment service 104)to access the shared network resource. In this example, the sharednetwork resource 804 is maintained by a third-party sharing service,such as Google® Drive, Dropbox®, OneDrive®, and so forth.

The user interface 1400 also includes a portion 1404, via which, themanaging user may invite other users to access the shared networkresource, may set permissions of the users (e.g., read/write, read only,available for download), may set who has control of the shared networkresource 804 (e.g., “Is Owner”), and so forth. In this illustratedexample, a user given access to edit the content is also givenpermission to add people and change permissions. Other examples are alsocontemplated in which this ability is limited solely to a managing userof the shared network resource 804.

FIG. 15 depicts an example user interface 1500 that is configured toinitiate comment input in relation to content available via the sharednetwork resource of FIG. 14. The user interface 1500 in this exampleincludes a display of the content 1502, e.g., an image of the Matterhornin this instance. The user interface 1500 includes an option 1504 thatis selectable to add a comment regarding the content 1502. Otherexamples of initiating content input include a gesture, key combination,and so on. Responsive to selection, an option is output to accept acomment, which is performable in association with a markup of thecontent 1502, an example of which is described in the following and isshown in a corresponding figure.

FIGS. 16 and 17 depict example user interfaces 1600, 1700 that areconfigured to accept inputs as a comment in relation to contentavailable via the shared network resource via an option outputresponsive to selection of FIG. 15. The user interface 1600 in thisexample includes a markup 1602 of the content 1502, which is a box drawnaround a peak of the mountain. Drawing of this markup 1602 causes outputof an option configured to accept a comment 1604 that is to beassociated with the markup 1602, e.g., text saying “should we highlightthe top?” The comment 1604 and the markup 1602 in FIG. 16 are visuallyassociated, one with another, in this example through use of a color. Itshould be readily apparent that a variety of other visual associationsmay also be performed, such as proximity, connecting visual lines, orother visual treatments.

In this way, a user may interact with particular portions of the content1502 and provide comments relating to those portions, which is savedalong with the content as shown in the user interface of FIG. 17. Thesecomments, markups, and content are also shared with other users havingaccess to the shared network resource as part of an activity stream, anexample of which is described in the following and is shown in acorresponding figure.

FIG. 18 depicts an example user interface 1800 that includes an activitystream that includes comments that may be used to support a workflow 808for creation and modification of the content 1502. The user interface1800 includes a display of the content 1502 as before, but in this casealso includes a concurrent display of an activity stream 1802. Theactivity stream 1802 is configured to display comments 1604 collected bythe deployment manager module 118 from users given access to the sharednetwork resource 804 in real time along with markups made to the image1502.

For example, any of the users granted access to shared network resource804 may view the activity stream to view the comment 1604 along with anindication of who made the comment in real time in the activity stream1604. Selection of the comment 1604 may cause output of the markup 1602shown in FIG. 16. Additional comments also be made by that user or otherusers and viewed in real time as part of the activity stream. Further,these comments may be included as part of a workflow 808 as previouslydescribed to guide creation of the content 1502. An example of input ofanother comment is described in the following and is shown in acorresponding figure.

FIG. 19 depicts another example user interface 1900 that is alsoconfigured to accept inputs as a comment in relation to contentavailable via the shared network resource. In this example, the content1502 is also displayed in the user interface 1900. A user inputs amarkup 1902 of the content, which causes output of an option to input acomment 1904, e.g., “or make the background more interesting.” Asillustrated, focus is given to the option when ready to receive text,e.g., by “graying out” the content 1502 and other portions of the userinterface 1900. Selection of “Add” in the user interface may then causethis markup 1902 and comment 1904 to be communicated in real time fordisplay to other users as part of an activity stream, an example ofwhich is described as follows and is shown in a corresponding figure.

FIG. 20 depicts an example user interface 2000 that includes an activitystream that includes comments input as described in FIGS. 16 and 19. Inthis example, comment 1604 is included in the activity stream as before.Comment 1904 has also been added. Each of the comments 1604, 1904 alsohas a corresponding indication of when the comment was made, e.g., howlong ago in this example. As illustrated, selection of a correspondingcomment 1604 in the activity stream 1802 causes output of acorresponding markup 1602 as previously described.

FIG. 21 depicts another example user interface 2100 that includes anactivity stream that includes comments input as described in FIGS. 16and 19. In this example, the activity stream 1802 having the comments1604, 1904 is shown in another configuration concurrently withcorresponding markups 1602, 1902 that are displayed without involvingselection of the corresponding comments 1604, 1904.

FIG. 22 depicts an example user interface 2200 showing selection anapplication of an image editing operation to the content 1502. In thisexample, a user given access to the shared network resource 804 throughthe content creation service 102 causes execution of one or more imageediting operations 2202 to the content 1502. A result of this executionis shown as content 2204.

The user may then add a comment 2302 as shown in the user interface 2300of FIG. 23, which in this instance describes the image editing operationperformed. Like before, the comment 2302 and the content 2204 arecommunicated in real time for inclusion in an activity stream 1802 of auser interface 2400 as shown in FIG. 24. In this way, the activitystream facilitates a workflow between marketers and content creators,further discussion of which is described in relation to the followingprocedures.

Example Procedures

The following discussion describes content creation and deploymentcollaboration techniques that may be implemented utilizing thepreviously described systems and devices. Aspects of each of theprocedures may be implemented in hardware, firmware, or software, or acombination thereof. The procedures are shown as a set of blocks thatspecify operations performed by one or more devices and are notnecessarily limited to the orders shown for performing the operations bythe respective blocks. In portions of the following discussion,reference will be made to FIGS. 1-24.

FIG. 25 depicts a procedure 2500 in an example implementation in whichcontent is created and the deployment of which is tracked as part of amarketing activity. Content is created and a usage tracking monitor isassociated with the created content (block 2502). A content creator, forinstance, may utilize a content capture device 208, interact withapplications of a content creation service 102, and so on to createcontent. The content may be associated with a tracking monitor 310 totrack deployment of the content 114, such as collect deployment data 122describing a number of views of the content 114.

The created content and associated usage tracking monitor are deployedas part of a marketing activity (block 2504). This includes deploymentas part of an online or offline marketing activity, e.g., emails, bannerads, flyers, and so forth.

Data is output for display in a user interface that describes thetracked deployment of the marketing activity and the created content(block 2506). The data describes a number of times interaction with thecontent occurred as well as how this interaction occurred, e.g., bywhom, when, where, and so on. This data is then output in real time togive feedback to the content creator, marketer, and so forth.

FIG. 26 depicts a procedure 2600 in an example implementation in whichdata is aggregated to indicate similarities of metadata andcorresponding tracked deployment of content as part of marketingactivities. Data is aggregated that describes tracked deployment of aplurality of marketing activities as well as content included as part ofrespective ones of the plurality of marketing activities to a pluralityof potential consumers (block 2602). Like the previous example, the datamay be configured as deployment data 122 that describes how content iscreated as well as how that content is deployed and interacted with aspart of marketing activities.

A user interface is exposed for display that indicates similarity ofmetadata, one to another, that describes creation of the content andcorrespondence of the similar metadata with the tracked deployment ofthe plurality of marketing activities described by the aggregated data(block 2604). The user interface, for instance, describes content havingsimilar characteristics as defined by the metadata along withcorresponding deployment data 122. In this way, commonalties areobserved that are useful in design of future content and marketingactivities.

FIG. 27 depicts a procedure 2700 in an example implementation in whichinputs are provided that describe a marketing activity and content to beincluded as part of the marketing activity and content creators andcontent are found based on metadata describing creation of content. Oneor more inputs are received that describe characteristics of a marketingactivity and content to be included as part of the marketing activity(block 2702). A marketer 408, for instance, may provide textual inputsdescribing a subject of a marketing activity (e.g., shoes, dog food,etc.), where the marketing activity is to be deployed, how the marketingactivity is to be deployed, and so on. Inputs may also be provided thatdescribe content for inclusion as part of the marketing activity, e.g.,landscape images, objects in the images (e.g., shoes), and so forth. Inanother example, a marketer 408 selects (e.g., drag and drop) examplesof content having characteristics that are desirable by the marketer,but the examples are not actually to be included as part of themarketing activity themselves.

Metadata is located that describes creation of content that correspondsto the described characteristics of the content and the marketingactivity (block 2704). The content creation service 102, for instance,leverages metadata 206 and deployment data 122 to locate characteristicsof content that correspond to the marketing activity and/or thedescription of the content, which are utilized to support a variety offunctionality.

For example, one or more content creators are found that have createdcontent corresponding to the located metadata (block 2706). Identifiersare output of the found one or more content creators for inclusion in auser interface (block 908). For instance, the located metadata may beutilized in a search to find content creators that are part of an onlinesocial-media based portfolio service that have created similar content.Identifiers of these content creators may then be output automaticallyand without user intervention such that the marketer may make offers tothese content creators to create desired content and thus improve thelikelihood that the content will be successful as part of the marketingactivity.

In another example, one or more items of content are found having thelocated metadata (block 2710). The found one or more items of contentare output for display in a user interface (block 2712). In thisexample, items of content themselves may be located that are suitablefor inclusion as part of the marketing activity. In this way,correspondence of the deployment data 122 and metadata 206 may beleveraged to locate content of interest for inclusion as part of amarketing activity.

FIG. 28 depicts a procedure 2800 in an example implementation in whichsuggestions are generated for content to be included as part of amarketing activity responsive to inputs that are received that describethe marketing activity. One or more inputs are received that describecharacteristics of a marketing activity and content to be included aspart of the marketing activity (block 2802). As before, a marketer 408may provide textual inputs describing a subject of a marketing activity(e.g., shoes, dog food, etc.), where the marketing activity is to bedeployed, how the marketing activity is to be deployed, may selectexamples of content to be included, and so on.

Metadata is located that describes creation of content that correspondsto the described characteristics of the content and the marketingactivity, the locating based at least in part on tracked deployment ofthe created content as part of respective ones of a plurality of othermarketing activities (block 2804). One or more suggestions are generatedthat describe characteristics of the content for inclusion as part ofthe marketing activity based on the located metadata (block 2806). Forexample, metadata 206 is located that describes creation of content 114that has been successfully deployed as part of a marketing activity.Commonalities of metadata 206 exhibited as part of this successfuldeployment may serve as a basis for configuring suggestions describingcharacteristics of the content to be included as part of a subsequentmarketing activity.

An offer is exposed for output in a user interface for viewing by one ormore content creators, the offer indicating the content to be includedas part of the marketing activity and including the generated one ormore suggestions (block 2808). The offer, for instance, may be output aspart of an online social-media based portfolio service and include adescription of the content to be created as well as the suggestions. Inthis way, the suggestions may be used as a guide by content creators toincrease a likelihood of success of created content as part of amarketing activity. Other examples are also contemplated, such as toconfigure an offer to be communicated directly to content creators, atool that is accessible by content creators for processing an offer toobtain the suggestions, and so forth.

FIG. 29 depicts a procedure 2900 in an example implementation in whichcontent is deployed and tracked using a usage tracking monitor. Acontent creation service is accessed via a network to create content,the content creation service implemented by one or more computingdevices and configured to associate metadata with the content,automatically and without user intervention, that is indicative ofcharacteristics of how the content is created as part of the contentcreation service (block 2902) and in this way is usable to track notonly the content but also how the content was created through thedigital environment described in relation to FIG. 1. The contentcreation service 102, for instance, may include a variety ofapplications that support a variety of functionality that may beutilized to create content “from scratch,” edit captured content, and soforth as previously described in relation to FIG. 2.

The content is caused to be communicated by the content creation servicefor deployment by a content deployment service as part of a marketingactivity, the content including a usage tracking monitor as part of thedeployment that is usable to cause data to be collected that describesthe deployment of the content as part of the marketing activity (block2904). The client device 106, for instance, may interact with thecontent creation service 102 and select functionality to publish thecontent 114 as part of a marketing activity 308. The content 114 mayinclude a tracking monitor 310 that is usable to track deployment of thecontent, such as how interaction is performed by potential consumers312, a number of interactions, and so forth.

FIG. 30 depicts a procedure 3000 in an example implementation in whichbadges are associated with a user profile and an item of content thatare indicative of deployment of content created by the content creatoras part of marketing activities. Functionality is exposed that isaccessible to a content creator via a network to create content (block3002), such as through interaction with the content creation service 102of FIG. 1.

A badge may be associated with a user profile of the content creator ina user interface of the content creation service that is indicative ofdeployment of content created by the content creator as part of one ormore marketing activities (block 3004). A badge may also be associatedwith the content in a user interface of the content creation servicethat is indicative of deployment of the content as part of one or moremarketing activities (block 3006). As shown in FIG. 6, for instance, abadge may be configured to indicate a particular one of a plurality oflevels (e.g., by a corresponding number of trophies), may include acounter, and so forth. These badges may be utilized to encourageparticipation by content creators as part of the online social-mediabased portfolio service as well as marketers in determining a reputationof content creators to locate content creators of interest.

FIG. 31 depicts a procedure 3100 in an example implementation in whichdeployment of a marketing activity and content is tracked and data isexposed for output in a user interface describing one or more devicesutilized in created the content. Deployment of a marketing activity andcontent included as part of the marketing activity to a plurality ofpotential consumers is tracked, the content having metadata associatedtherewith describing one or more devices utilized in creating thecontent (block 3102). A content creator, for instance, may utilize acontent capture device as part of content creation. Metadata 206 maythen be associated with the created content 114 which may describe thecontent capture device, accessories of the content capture device, andsettings employed by the content capture device in capturing thecontent.

Data is exposed for output in a user interface that describes thetracked deployment of the marketing activity and the metadata describingthe one or more devices utilized in creating the content (block 3104).The data, for instance, may be exposed to other content creators,retailers, and/or manufacturers to guide future usage and design of thedevices, e.g., to notice particular zoom levels utilized, resolutionsthat are desirable, and so on that may be utilized to design and usefuture devices.

FIG. 32 depicts a procedure 3200 in an example implementation in whichannotations are generated for content to be included as part of an offerfor content to be included as part of a marketing activity. One or moreinputs are received that describe characteristics of a marketingactivity and content to be included as part of the marketing activity(block 3202). As before, a marketer 408 may provide textual inputsdescribing a subject of a marketing activity (e.g., shoes, dog food,etc.), where the marketing activity is to be deployed, how the marketingactivity is to be deployed, may select examples of content to beincluded, and so on.

Metadata is located that describes creation of content that correspondsto the described characteristics of the content and the marketingactivity, the locating based at least in part on tracked deployment ofthe created content as part of respective ones of a plurality of othermarketing activities (block 3204). For example, metadata 206 may belocated that describes creation of content 114 that has beensuccessfully deployed as part of a marketing activity. Commonalities ofmetadata 206 exhibited as part of this successful deployment may serviceas a basis for configuring suggestions describing characteristics of thecontent to be included as part of a subsequent marketing activity.

One or more annotations are generated that describe characteristics ofthe content for inclusion as part of the marketing activity (block3206). A marketer 408, for instance, may annotate examples of thecontent to be included as part of the marketing activity to indicatechanges to be made, characteristics that are desirable, and so on.

An offer is exposed for output in a user interface for viewing by one ormore content creators, the offer indicating the content to be includedas part of the marketing activity and including the annotations and thelocated metadata (block 3208). The offer, for instance, may include themetadata as well as the annotations to guide a content creator in thecreation of new content for inclusion as part of a marketing activity. Avariety of other examples are also contemplated without departing fromthe spirit and scope thereof.

FIG. 33 depicts a procedure 3300 in an example implementation in whichdata describing tracked deployment of a plurality of marketingactivities is segmented by channel and content within those channels israted to serve as suggestions for selection of content. Data is receiveddescribing tracked deployment of a plurality of marketing activities andcontent included as part of respective ones of the plurality ofmarketing activities to a plurality of potential consumers (block 3302).The data, for example, may be configured as deployment data 122 thatdescribes content 114 usage as part of marketing activities as describedabove.

The data and corresponding content is segmented as being associated witha respective one of a plurality of marketing channels (block 3304). Themarket channels 708, for instance, may correspond to different avenuesfor consumption of the content 114, e.g., device type and so on.Accordingly, deployment data 122 corresponding to those channels may be“bucketed” in respective ones of the marketing channels 708.

The content is rated based on usage within respective ones of theplurality of marketing channels (block 3306). The ratings, for instance,may be based on the usage of the content 114 within the channel 708. Theratings may also be based on metadata 206 associated with the content,such as to describe commonalities such as characteristics of thecontent, environmental conditions, and so forth.

The ratings of the content are exposed that are usable to selectrespective content for inclusion with a marketing activity based onidentification of one or more of the plurality of marketing channelsthat are associated with a respective potential consumer that is toreceive the marketing activity (block 3308). The content deploymentservice 104, for instance, may receive a request 714 that identifies aparticular marketing channel 708. The ratings 712 may then be used toselect content have the highest likelihood of being of interest for thatmarketing channel, which then may be included with the marketingactivity 716 as described above.

FIG. 34 depicts a procedure 3400 in an example implementation in whichan activity stream is employed that is used to display comments andmarkups to content. Interaction of one or more users with contentavailable via a shared network resource is monitored (block 3402). Theusers, for instance, may interact with content via a shared networkresource 804 maintained by a third-party sharing service 802, a contentdeployment service 104, synchronized between the two, and so forth.

Comments and markups made in association with the content as part of themonitored interaction are collected (block 3406). As shown in FIGS. 16,19, and 23, comments may be made in conjunction with markups of thecontent, image editing operations, and so forth.

A user interface is exposed for display that includes the content andthe markups in which at least one of the markups is disposed over adisplay of the content and an activity stream that includes thecollected comments (block 3406). The user interface may include anactivity stream 1802 that includes the comments and markups that havebeen collected in real time for users that have been granted access tothe shared network resource 804. A variety of other examples are alsocontemplated, such as to incorporate tasks 810 as part of a workflow 808associated with a marketing activity 806 of the shared network resource804 as described above.

Example System and Device

FIG. 35 illustrates an example system generally at 3500 that includes anexample computing device 3502 that is representative of one or morecomputing systems and/or devices that may implement the varioustechniques described herein. This is illustrated through inclusion ofthe content creation service 102, the content deployment service 104,and content 114. The computing device 3502 may be, for example, a serverof a service provider, a device associated with a client (e.g., a clientdevice), an on-chip system, and/or any other suitable computing deviceor computing system.

The example computing device 3502 as illustrated includes a processingsystem 3504, one or more computer-readable media 3506, and one or moreI/O interface 3508 that are communicatively coupled, one to another.Although not shown, the computing device 3502 may further include asystem bus or other data and command transfer system that couples thevarious components, one to another. A system bus can include any one orcombination of different bus structures, such as a memory bus or memorycontroller, a peripheral bus, a universal serial bus, and/or a processoror local bus that utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures. Avariety of other examples are also contemplated, such as control anddata lines.

The processing system 3504 is representative of functionality to performone or more operations using hardware. Accordingly, the processingsystem 3504 is illustrated as including hardware element 3510 that maybe configured as processors, functional blocks, and so forth. This mayinclude implementation in hardware as an application specific integratedcircuit or other logic device formed using one or more semiconductors.The hardware elements 3510 are not limited by the materials from whichthey are formed or the processing mechanisms employed therein. Forexample, processors may be comprised of semiconductor(s) and/ortransistors (e.g., electronic integrated circuits (ICs)). In such acontext, processor-executable instructions may beelectronically-executable instructions.

The computer-readable storage media 3506 is illustrated as includingmemory/storage 3512. The memory/storage 3512 represents memory/storagecapacity associated with one or more computer-readable media. Thememory/storage component 3512 may include volatile media (such as randomaccess memory (RAM)) and/or nonvolatile media (such as read only memory(ROM), Flash memory, optical disks, magnetic disks, and so forth). Thememory/storage component 3512 may include fixed media (e.g., RAM, ROM, afixed hard drive, and so on) as well as removable media (e.g., Flashmemory, a removable hard drive, an optical disc, and so forth). Thecomputer-readable media 3506 may be configured in a variety of otherways as further described below.

Input/output interface(s) 3508 are representative of functionality toallow a user to enter commands and information to computing device 3502,and also allow information to be presented to the user and/or othercomponents or devices using various input/output devices. Examples ofinput devices include a keyboard, a cursor control device (e.g., amouse), a microphone, a scanner, touch functionality (e.g., capacitiveor other sensors that are configured to detect physical touch), a camera(e.g., which may employ visible or non-visible wavelengths such asinfrared frequencies to recognize movement as gestures that do notinvolve touch), and so forth. Examples of output devices include adisplay device (e.g., a monitor or projector), speakers, a printer, anetwork card, tactile-response device, and so forth. Thus, the computingdevice 3502 may be configured in a variety of ways as further describedbelow to support user interaction.

Various techniques may be described herein in the general context ofsoftware, hardware elements, or program modules. Generally, such modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, elements, components, datastructures, and so forth that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. The terms “module,” “functionality,” and“component” as used herein generally represent software, firmware,hardware, or a combination thereof. The features of the techniquesdescribed herein are platform-independent, meaning that the techniquesmay be implemented on a variety of commercial computing platforms havinga variety of processors.

An implementation of the described modules and techniques may be storedon or transmitted across some form of computer-readable media. Thecomputer-readable media may include a variety of media that may beaccessed by the computing device 3502. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer-readable media may include “computer-readablestorage media” and “computer-readable signal media.”

“Computer-readable storage media” may refer to media and/or devices thatenable persistent and/or non-transitory storage of information incontrast to mere signal transmission, carrier waves, or signals per se.Thus, computer-readable storage media refers to non-signal bearingmedia. The computer-readable storage media includes hardware such asvolatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media and/orstorage devices implemented in a method or technology suitable forstorage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, logic elements/circuits, or other data.Examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are notlimited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, harddisks, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or other storage device, tangible media, orarticle of manufacture suitable to store the desired information andwhich may be accessed by a computer.

“Computer-readable signal media” may refer to a signal-bearing mediumthat is configured to transmit instructions to the hardware of thecomputing device 3502, such as via a network. Signal media typically mayembody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules,or other data in a modulated data signal, such as carrier waves, datasignals, or other transport mechanism. Signal media also include anyinformation delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media include wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.

As previously described, hardware elements 3510 and computer-readablemedia 3506 are representative of modules, programmable device logicand/or fixed device logic implemented in a hardware form that may beemployed in some embodiments to implement at least some aspects of thetechniques described herein, such as to perform one or moreinstructions. Hardware may include components of an integrated circuitor on-chip system, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logicdevice (CPLD), and other implementations in silicon or other hardware.In this context, hardware may operate as a processing device thatperforms program tasks defined by instructions and/or logic embodied bythe hardware as well as a hardware utilized to store instructions forexecution, e.g., the computer-readable storage media describedpreviously.

Combinations of the foregoing may also be employed to implement varioustechniques described herein. Accordingly, software, hardware, orexecutable modules may be implemented as one or more instructions and/orlogic embodied on some form of computer-readable storage media and/or byone or more hardware elements 3510. The computing device 3502 may beconfigured to implement particular instructions and/or functionscorresponding to the software and/or hardware modules. Accordingly,implementation of a module that is executable by the computing device3502 as software may be achieved at least partially in hardware, e.g.,through use of computer-readable storage media and/or hardware elements3510 of the processing system 3504. The instructions and/or functionsmay be executable/operable by one or more articles of manufacture (forexample, one or more computing devices 3502 and/or processing systems3504) to implement techniques, modules, and examples described herein.

The techniques described herein may be supported by variousconfigurations of the computing device 3502 and are not limited to thespecific examples of the techniques described herein. This functionalitymay also be implemented all or in part through use of a distributedsystem, such as over a “cloud” 3514 via a platform 3516 as describedbelow.

The cloud 3514 includes and/or is representative of a platform 3516 forresources 3518. The platform 3516 abstracts underlying functionality ofhardware (e.g., servers) and software resources of the cloud 3514. Theresources 3518 may include applications and/or data that can be utilizedwhile computer processing is executed on servers that are remote fromthe computing device 3502. Resources 3518 can also include servicesprovided over the Internet and/or through a subscriber network, such asa cellular or Wi-Fi network.

The platform 3516 may abstract resources and functions to connect thecomputing device 3502 with other computing devices. The platform 3516may also serve to abstract scaling of resources to provide acorresponding level of scale to encountered demand for the resources3518 that are implemented via the platform 3516. Accordingly, in aninterconnected device embodiment, implementation of functionalitydescribed herein may be distributed throughout the system 3500. Forexample, the functionality may be implemented in part on the computingdevice 3502 as well as via the platform 3516 that abstracts thefunctionality of the cloud 3514.

CONCLUSION

Although the invention has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing theclaimed invention.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. In a digital medium environment for creating anddeploying a marketing activity, where the marketing activity involvescreation and deployment of content as part of the marketing activity, asystem to create and deploy the content comprising: a content creationservice implemented by one or more computing devices, the contentcreation service configured to expose functionality that is accessibleto content creators via a network to create content and associatemetadata with the content that describes the creation of the content;and a content deployment service implemented by one or more computingdevices, the content creation service configured to deploy the contentcreated as part of the content creation service as part of a marketingactivity and provide data back to the content creation service thatdescribes the deployment of the content as part of the marketingactivity.
 22. A system as described in claim 21, wherein the metadatadescribes one or more image processing operations applied to the contentor identifies one or more applications used to perform the processing.23. A system as described in claim 21, wherein the metadata alsodescribes characteristics of a device used to create the content.
 24. Asystem as described in claim 23, wherein the characteristics includedevice type, flash usage, focal length, aperture value, exposure time,zoom level, digital versus analog zoom, lens type, device identifier.25. A system as described in claim 21, wherein the metadata alsodescribes characteristics of the content.
 26. A system as described inclaim 25, wherein described characteristics of the content includeidentification of one or more objects in the content or sceneclassification.
 27. A system as described in claim 21, wherein themetadata also describes environmental conditions of a scene in which thecontent is captured, the environmental conditions including a sceneclassification, lighting conditions, or whether the environment islikely indoors or outdoors.
 28. A system as described in claim 21,wherein the data that describes the deployment of the content as part ofthe marketing activity describes a number of times the created contentis viewed by one or more potential consumers.
 29. In a digital mediumenvironment for creating and deploying a marketing activity, where themarketing activity involves creation and deployment of content as partof the marketing activity, a method implemented by a client devicecomprising: accessing a content creation service via a network to createcontent, the content creation service implemented by one or morecomputing devices and configured to associate metadata with the content,automatically and without user intervention, that is indicative ofcharacteristics of how the content is created as part of the contentcreation service; and causing the content to be communicated by thecontent creation service for deployment by a content deployment serviceas part of a marketing activity, the content including a usage trackingmonitor as part of the deployment that is usable to cause data to becollected that describes the deployment of the content as part of themarketing activity.
 30. A method as described in claim 29, furthercomprising displaying in a user interface the data that describes thedeployment of the content as part of the marketing activity.
 31. Amethod as described in claim 30, wherein the displaying of the data isperformed in real time during deployment of the marketing activity. 32.A method as described in claim 30, wherein the displaying of the dataincludes a badge associated with the content that is indicative of alevel of deployment of the content as part of the marketing activity.33. A method as described in claim 30, wherein the displaying of thedata includes a badge associated with a user profile of a contentcreator that is indicative of a level of deployment of content createdby the content creator as part of one or more marketing activities. 34.A method as described in claim 33, wherein the metadata describes one ormore image processing operations applied to the content or identifiesone or more applications used to perform the processing.
 35. In adigital medium environment for creating and deploying a marketingactivity, where the marketing activity involves creation and deploymentof content as part of the marketing activity, a system to create anddeploy the content comprising one or more modules implemented at leastpartially in hardware, the one or more modules configured to: controlfunctionality that is exposed as accessible to content creators via anetwork to create the content and associate metadata with the contentthat describes the creation of the content; and control feedback that isexposed in a user interface that describes deployment of the content aspart of a marketing activity.
 36. A system as described in claim 35,wherein the feedback is exposed in in real time during deployment of themarketing activity.
 37. A system as described in claim 35, wherein thefeedback includes a badge associated with the content that is indicativeof a level of deployment of the content as part of the marketingactivity.
 38. A system as described in claim 35, wherein the feedbackincludes a badge associated with a user profile of a content creatorthat is indicative of a level of deployment of content created by thecontent creator as part of one or more marketing activities.
 39. Asystem as described in claim 35, wherein the metadata describes one ormore image processing operations applied to the content or identifiesone or more applications used to perform the processing.
 40. A system asdescribed in claim 35, wherein the feedback describes a number of timesthe created content is viewed by one or more potential consumers.